


when words no longer suffice

by janesworthy



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: #Prince AU, #idfk how ao3 tags work, #prince!neil, #royalty au, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:13:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28701975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janesworthy/pseuds/janesworthy
Summary: Neil couldn’t help but wonder what a life without a predetermined future would be like, the freedom to become who he wanted to be.
Relationships: Todd Anderson & Neil Perry, Todd Anderson/Neil Perry
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! i had this idea about a month ago, but i’m not a very experienced writer so it took me so long to really feel where the story was going, and it’s finally here! i just want to start off by saying that i’m sorry if any of my terminology regarding kingdoms and royalty is off, i tried my best. I really hope you enjoy even though i’m not the best writer 
> 
> here’s my anderperry playlist if you’d like to listen while you read: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/24vJriIL3RDtDKXFZmMBT0?si=OS5yIjQzQLeAuZaLohO4Kg

Neil gazed out the window, watching the sun rise. He could stay like this forever, forget all his responsibilities. He heard a knock on his door-his father, he presumed.  
“Come in.” He sighed. Neil's father walked in, taking a mental note of his son’s daydreaming.  
“You don’t seem to understand that you’re almost 18 do you?” He scolded, “You can’t lead people by sitting in your room.”  
“Father, i’m trying my best. I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of becoming the leader of a kingdom completely against my will.”  
Neil’s father rolled his eyes, “Don’t you have a fitting in an hour? Get ready quickly, punctuality is important, Neil.” He left Neil’s room, leaving him with his thoughts once again. Neil couldn’t help but wonder what a life without a predetermined future would be like, the freedom to become who he wanted to be.

Neil had just made it in time, not that anyone would’ve told his father if he didn’t. The castle’s staff all got along well with Neil, it was hard not to. He had to make a few calls before he could be there, this was the perfect time to meet with his friends without his father knowing.  
“So, what do you say we have a night out on the town today?” Charlie took a massive bite out of the apple he had stolen from the kitchen.  
“I don’t know Charlie, I've got studying to do..” Meeks answered.  
“Come on! You could just sit around and get paid but you’re still dead set on university, it doesn’t make sense!” Charlie scolded.  
“Personally, I think what you’re doing is honorable Meeks, I would do it too if I could.” Neil sighed, “And if it’s alright with everyone else, a night out sounds great.”  
Knox shrugged, “Not like I've got anything better to do.”  
“Sounds like a plan.” Pitts nodded.  
“Well then,” Charlie smirked, “Meeks, you’ve got to come! Prince’s orders!”  
“Alright, Alright,” He grinned sheepishly “I can make it work.”  
Neil smiled, checking out his new suit in the mirror, “Oh, and someone tell Cameron about this.”  
Charlie groaned, “Must we?”  
“Prince’s orders after all!”  
The boys laughed. 

“Charlie!” Neil waved, trying to get the attention of his friends. He had climbed out of his window to meet the boys in a town outside of his father’s rule- he couldn’t risk being recognized. There was no way his father would’ve allowed him out, and he never bothered to ask anyways.  
“Prince!!” Charlie cheered, beaming. The others tried to shush him; Neil’s identity was supposed to stay secret, after all.  
“Oh. Charlie, are you drunk already? It’s barely even dark out!”  
“Not exactly surprising behavior from dear old Charles, is it though?” Knox said with his arm around Charlie’s shoulders.  
“I tried to stop him,” Cameron remarked.  
“Stop bringing the mood down, Richard! Let’s drink!” Charlie jeered. The boys (with the exception of Cameron of course) yelled along with him.  
Charlie had chosen a bar he’d been to before, noting that there were cute bartenders. Neil was always nervous when he hung out in public, there was always a chance of being recognized. Neil wasn’t exactly treated as a celebrity, and he was fine with that, but people knew him nonetheless. He always felt some sense of guilt doing things like this, especially since they had to use fake ids, and Neil wasn’t a very good liar.  
“Loosen up Neil!” Knox nudged him, taking him out of his pensive state.  
“Alright, here I go,” Neil nodded. He took in a deep breath and approached a bartender. The first thing that caught his eye was that he looked about the same age as Neil. The second thing was that he was beautiful.  
“Uh can i have a martini please?” Neil asked shyly.  
The bartender simply nodded and turned to prepare the drink, reciprocating Neil’s shyness.  
“Weird,” Pitts remarked “Aren’t bartenders meant to be social? And over the drinking age?”  
Neil shrugged. The bartender came back with Neil’s drink. Neil internally debated whether or not to start a conversation.  
“You look young,” He said. Fuck. That wasn’t very smooth.  
“Oh. Um yeah, i’m 17. My dad is the owner.” The bartender looked embarrassed.  
“That’s.. nice.” Neil hated this awkwardness, he wasn’t normally like this. “Well, i’m Neil.” He extended his hand. The bartender reluctantly shook his hand. Neil waited for a response.  
“Oh Todd. I’m Todd.” Todd blushed, realizing his mistake.  
“What’s it like working at a bar so young? I mean you can’t even consume the merchandise!” Neil tried to joke around.  
“You’re the same age as me aren’t you?”  
“What? Of course not.”  
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kick you and your friends out, but it’s kind of obvious.”  
Neil gulped his drink all at once.  
“Promise?”  
“Promise.” Todd shook his head sheepishly.  
“So in that case, can i get another one of these?” Neil felt the awkwardness melt away. He forgot all about his friends, nothing more mattered to him in this moment than the boy in front of him.  
“Do you get along with your father?” He asked.  
Todd froze, he looked embarrassed.  
“Uh why do you ask?”  
“I don’t know, I just wondered, because he must trust you a lot to give you a job here right?”  
“I guess so,” Todd looked down, “And you?”  
“Do I get along with my father? God no.” Neil laughed, “I think he’s just about the only person I don't get along with.”  
“Why?” Todd asked genuinely.  
Neil hadn't expected him to ask, did he really want to burden a stranger with all his issues?  
“He’s so… controlling.”  
Todd leaned down on the counter, as if to say he was listening.  
“He wants me to be the perfect son. I can't even spend time with my friends without sneaking behind his back. I had to climb out of a window to get here for god's sake. He just never listens to me, how am I supposed to be a king when my father still makes decisions for me?”  
“King?” Todd shook his head in confusion.  
“Oh um.” fuck. That meant game over.  
“You know what, do you think you could get me another drink?” Neil asked.  
“Oh. Sure.” Todd looked defeated.  
As soon as Todd turned around Neil dashed out of his seat and found his friends.  
“Hey we gotta go.”  
His friends took note of his nervous demeanor.  
“What happened with loverboy over there?” Charlie smirked, demonstrating his ability of never being able to read the room.  
“What?” Neil was flustered, “Oh the bartender? Nothing happened. Anyways can we just get out?”  
“Sure Neil.” Knox nodded, trying to make up for Charlie’s smugness.  
The boys left, Neil hurriedly leading the group. It made no sense for him to run away, it just made him more suspicious, he should’ve come up with some stupid explanation, he thought.  
And despite trying to convince himself life would go on, all Neil could think about that night was Todd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i’m sure that was awful and confusing and way too short, but we all have to start somewhere i guess. I’m sorry if this feels rushed, I think I need to work on my pacing. I don’t know a thing about alcohol or bars so i’m sorry if i got something terribly wrong haha. I’d appreciate any thoughts you have on the story and any advice for the writing too! thank you so much for reading!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sorry for taking so long to publish the second chapter, it takes me forever to figure out what i want to write lol. anyways hope you enjoy 🙏  
> \- astrid

Todd paced outside his fathers office, rehearsing his question mentally. He wasn’t asking for much, but Todd never knew with his father, he had gotten so used to being screamed at he barely even talked to him anymore.  
“You can come in Todd.” Mr.Anderson called from inside the room. Todd took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and stepped inside. He stood nervously.  
“So? Are you just going to stand there?”  
“Oh. Well I was wondering,” He exhaled, “I was wondering if I could have tonight off?”  
“Why would you need a day off?” His father scoffed, “You’ve got nothing better to do.”  
“I was just thinking I’d go out tonight, like in town.”  
“With who? Did you meet someone?”  
“Well, yeah I guess.”  
“A girl?” His voice sounded hopeful.  
“No.”  
“Alright well,” He sighed, “I guess it’s fine then. Go out tonight, but don’t think skipping out on your responsibilities for some boy is going to become a normal occurrence.”  
“Yes sir.” Todd replied, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. He couldn’t help but smile. He was going to find that boy tonight, he was sure of it.

where to start, Todd wondered as he tied his laces. It had been ages since he’d been able to go out alone, just for himself. Running errands was alright, getting fresh air was never a bad thing, but it was still controlled by his father just like everything else. Tonight he was completely free, just Todd Anderson against the world. He left the house and started on his way to town, he wasn’t sure where he expected to find Neil but he had to at least try. He remembered Neil saying something about being king, but Todd just assumed he had a little too much to drink. God he was crazy. Running after a boy he’d barely spoken to? But no matter what logic Todd tried to use to get himself to turn around, his heart was pulling him towards Neil. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt before, like nothing would be alright until he saw him again.  
“Um,” Todd took a deep breath, preparing himself for the absolute ordeal that was conversing, “Do you know where the, uh well the highschool boys hang around? Like after school, I guess?” He asked a teenage girl.  
“That seems like something I should be asking you.” she giggled, “but i’m fairly certain you can find plenty of Ridgeway boys over there.” She pointed at a soccer field.  
“Oh alright thank you.” Todd started to turn in the other direction.  
“I’m Chris, by the way!”  
Todd turned back around, “Oh i’m Todd.”  
They shook hands.  
“Well good luck with..” Chris hesitated, she looked over Todd’s shoulder to look at the field, realizing she had no idea what he was doing, “whatever it is you’re doing.”  
Todd blushed, “I’m… looking for someone..”  
“Oh well maybe I know him!” The girl beamed.  
“Maybe, his name’s Neil.”  
Chris sighed, “I don’t think I know a Neil, but I can help you look! Does Neil have a last name?”  
“Not one that I know of.”  
“Hm,” Chris thought, “Let’s go ask around on the field.” She grabbed Todd’s hand and they started walking towards the mob of teenage boys chasing after a ball. As the boys noticed Chris’s presence they started to whistle and holler, only eliciting an eye roll from Chris, who didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed. She stormed up to a boy who seemed to be the leader of some sorts.  
“Chris.” He smirked.  
“Chet.” She glared.  
“Come running back so soon?”  
“God you are infuriating! Can you shut up for 5 seconds and be a normal person?”  
This seemed to knock Chet down a few pegs.  
“My friend Todd here,” She motioned towards Todd, making him blush and look down, “Is looking for someone named Neil, and we were wondering if you went to school with him?”  
god this was embarrassing, doing all of this was a mistake. Todd tried to stop blushing, obviously with no success.  
Chet laughed, “I don’t know a Neil,” He said, “But your friend here doesn’t look too excited.”  
The rest of the boys laughed.  
“Whatever Chet.” She rolled her eyes once again, and motioned for Todd to follow her off the field. “I shouldn’t have done that, I should’ve known Chet would be an asshole. And I'm sorry for embarrassing you.”  
“Oh, it’s not your fault,” He looked at her sheepishly, “I’m just like that.”  
Chris shook her head and smiled, “No i’m really sorry, I get ahead of myself sometimes, I was being childish.” Her own embarrassment seemed to be creeping up on her as she cringed.  
“What’s the story with this Neil kid anyways?”  
Todd wasn’t sure what to say.  
“I work at a bar and we talked for a while, but he left so fast I would've liked to,” Todd sighed, “I don’t know... get his phone number or something, if he has one. Ugh it’s embarrassing.”  
“No it’s not! I think it’s sweet!”  
“More like obsessive.”  
“No really,” Chris smiled, “I’m sure Neil is looking for you too.”  
Todd felt so safe next to this girl, she was like a ray of sunshine.  
“I don’t even know why I thought this would work, I know nothing about him.”  
“I think you’ll find him. The world has a way of bringing beautiful people together”  
Todd blushed.  
“Come on,” She extended her hand, “Let’s go ask around, and if we can’t find him today, there’s a million days ahead of us.”

——

It was late. Much later than his father would be ok with, but Todd didn’t care. He hadn’t even found Neil and he didn’t care. He had finally made a new friend. As silly as it felt to be celebrating something like that, he had spent the entire day chasing down that boy with Chris, and it had been the most fun he’d had in years. The only fun really. He was going to have to work some magic to get another night off, but for once, he believed in himself. He eagerly walked back home, gazing up at the stars.  
“Hey! Watch it!” A teenage boy exclaimed. Todd had bumped into him, not paying attention to his surroundings.  
“I’m so sorry, I should been paying more attention-“  
“Wait.” The boy stared at todd, “You’re that boy, the bartender right?”  
“Oh. Well yes I’m a bartender at Anderson’s.” Todd wasn’t sure what that had to do with anything.  
“Oh my god!” The boy beamed, “You’re Todd right?”  
“Yes..” What the hell was going on?  
“Neil has not shut up about you once since that night we all went to Anderson’s!”  
Todd’s eyes lit up, “Neil? You know him?”  
“Of course! He’s my best friend!”  
“I was.. I was actually looking for him today.”  
“Jesus that’s adorable.” The drunken teenager laughed, “I’m Charlie by the way.”  
“Does Neil have a phone? Or an address? I’d like to talk to him again maybe.”  
“Oh for sure!” Charlie started reciting numbers, and Todd tried to imprint them into his mind.  
“Thank you so much Charlie, you don’t understand how much this means.”  
“I think I,” Charlie gaged before he could finish his sentence, he was completely wrecked.  
“Charlie, do you need someplace to stay tonight? I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to go home like this.”  
“Would that be alright?”  
“Of course. Come with me.” Todd helped Charlie into his house quietly, then up the stairs and into his room. Charlie collapsed on the bed.  
“You should call Neil.” Charlie suggested.  
“What? Right now? It’s nearly midnight!”  
“He’ll pick up. He always does. Never gets any sleep anyways.” He yawned.  
“Alright then.” Todd dialed the number Charlie gave him and waited hopefully for him to pick up.  
“Hello?” A tired voice came from the telephone.  
“Hello, is this Neil?”  
“Yes It’s him, who’s calling?”  
“Todd. Todd anderson.”  
“Oh my god! I thought I'd have to come back down to Anderson’s to get your number. Todd, how are you?”  
“I’m great,” Todd blushed, “And you?”  
“Well I’m feeling incredible now.”  
Charlie whistled.  
“What was that.” Neil paused.  
“Heyyy Neil, what’s up?” Charlie yelled, his face buried in Todd’s pillow.  
“Charlie’s with you?”  
“Yeah, I found him drunk out of his mind leaving the bar, I didn't feel right letting him go home like that.”  
“That boy is a handful,” Neil sighed, “Charlie go to sleep .”  
Charli booed, but he was clearly half asleep already.  
“Do you think we could meet up sometime?” Neil directed the conversation back to Todd.  
“Does tomorrow work?” Todd asked, not even knowing if it worked for him.  
“Of course!” Neil lied, convincing his dad to let him out would be a pain in the ass.  
“Ok so it’s settled, I’ll see you tomorrow Neil”  
“See you tomorrow Todd, Goodbye.”  
“Wait.” Todd stopped, “I remember you saying something about being king when we talked, it’s probably nothing but i haven’t been able to stop thinking about that. What did you mean?”  
Oh god. Neil exhaled, “It’s just a family thing. Hard to explain sorry.”  
“Oh alright. Well thank you, sleep well Neil.”  
“I will.” Neil smiled at the phone, because for once in his life maybe he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! this chapter was a lot of fun to write and i was so excited to add chris. leave kudos and comments if you want :)  
> -astrid


End file.
